Upcoming ACM Programs

Unless otherwise noted, all program meetings are held at Beth El Synagogue, 5224 W. 26th Street, St. Louis Park, 55416. Programs start at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesdays of the month. All programs are free and open to the public.

2017 SEPT 5 at 7:00 p.m. at

Beth El Synagogue,

5224 W. 26th Street,

St Louis Park, MN 55416

“BACKYARD BIRDS, BLOOMS & BUGS” by Sher Curry

A personal look at what works for Sher to attract birds to her yard.

Nature photographer, Sher Curry, will discuss plants that attract birds, along with how the bugs interact with the birds and the plants. She will have photographs and info about these and tell you what works best for her.

BIO: Sher Curry

Sher Curry was born in Minneapolis and lived in the metro area most of her life. She spent most of her childhood in the huge wooded lots behind her home which are now county parks. She has always loved the great outdoors and everything nature has to offer. Her education is in Veterinary Medicine and she worked as a Veterinary Laboratory Technician at the Emergency Animal Hospitals for many years. After that she was in small office management, customer service and accounting positions. She has given several presentations at metro Garden Clubs and some of the Audubon Chapters and other Birding Clubs.

Sher is a skillful nature photographer and has been for many years. Over the past four years her passion has been water birds of all kinds, found primarily in Minnesota. Many hours are spent in the field searching for and photographing her subjects. She is constantly on the search for new spots and new birds to capture. Sher also is an advocate of educating people she meets about the proper consideration and respect of wildlife and the areas they live in. Her primary focus is to tell a story with incorporating the landscape and areas these birds are found in.

She is also a water color artist and uses some of her photographs for inspiration in her paintings.

2017 OCT 3, 7:00 p.m. at

Beth El Synagogue,

5224 W. 26th Street,

St Louis Park, MN 55416

“WHY HONDURAS” by Wilmer Fernandez

This presentation will highlight the connections between Minnesota and Honduras related to the migratory birds that are common here in our Spring/Summer but spend Winter in the Central/South America region.

It will also showcase various opportunities for birding and adventure travel as well as local conservation efforts to preserve habitats in the country. Honduras offers several habitat types, from rainforest, pine-oak forest, mangrove, sandy beaches to cloud forests. That diversity in ecosystems explains the huge variety of birds, nearly 800 species have been observed in the country.

The purpose of my presentation is getting you excited about birding, conservation and to make you realize the connections between Minnesota and Honduras to the point that you would include Honduras in your list of potential birding destinations.

“Why Honduras” will focus on:

Overview of topographical regions and climate

Birding maps

Minnesota/Honduras Connection – sample migrants

Example of local conservation efforts – PANACAM and Fuente de Vida

Birding tours examples

and How to get to Honduras

BIO: Wilmer Fernandez is a business analyst in the Project Management department of Rosemount. He is a birding enthusiast living in the metro area for more than 20 years, but grew up in Honduras, in a banana plantation in the northern coast of Honduras where his dad worked for Chiquita. He grew up enjoying the outdoors there – mostly hiking in the Sula Valley and the nearby mountains. Wilmer came to this part of the world to finish his undergraduate in Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and later a Master’s degree at the University of St Thomas. In the last four years he has been spending more time outdoors birding, learning more about conservation, bird habitats and logging his observations in eBird. Wilmer and his wife Shanelle travel to Honduras every year to visit family and friends and to go birding when time allows. As part of his professional career as a consultant, he has traveled extensively; having visited around 30 countries. One of his current hobbies is the promotion of birding and specifically birding in Honduras where he has partnered with his friends to bring groups down to see the wonders that Honduras has to offer. He is more interested in the one-to-one exchange/transfer of ideas and knowledge related to birding and habitat conservation between local communities here in the US and those small communities in Honduras.

When he is not at the office, other hobbies include soccer and volunteering; He is currently a teacher assistant for English as Second Language (ESL) classes with North Metro Adult Basic Education programs.

The Program Chair who helps arrange Speakers for Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis is Sher Curry. We are always looking for program ideas. If you have any suggestions, please email Sher at sherfreebird@usfamily.net.